{PH}88fingers wrote on Sep 20, 2011, 21:29:What if diablo 3 was labeled a multiplayer game... with the ability to play solo if you wish... would that make it ok to buy the game?

If the game is fun and you have an internet connection, what's the problem.

The problem is that Blizzard is using that requirement to squash any chance for user made mods, (even in SP) most likely for the sake of more profitable future DLC. That, and requiring being online for the singleplayer game is a ridiculous requirement, regardless of the majority of people's internet connectivity.

That's a pretty hefty statement considering Blizzard has never to my knowledge done DLC in it's entire history of games. Nor have they allowed mods, save for new maps in the *craft games.

There's a difference between not allowing mods and not encouraging them. I would say Blizzard allows mods, but they don't actively encourage them like some other developers (id and Valve, namely). They just seem apathetic to the whole mod community.

EddieTheHack wrote on Sep 20, 2011, 13:04:I always thought homefront would have worked much better in a sandbox approach. About the time you wound up in that suburban rebel camp is the time the game should have taken the training wheels off and let you go. It was a very cool premise with poor execution. I doubt crytek is going to do anything worth while with the franchise and with crysis 2 being the benchmark game for their tech - your going to end up with a buggy pile of shit that no one plays after a month or two. Crytek grew too big much to fast and the quality has nosedived as a result. Thats what happens when you jump in bed with EA. THQ is no better as pub. They canceled the avengers and green lit this turd?

I thought so too, maybe something akin to Freedom Fighters with a recruitment system, but even more open in objectives and missions.

LightAssassin wrote on Sep 19, 2011, 11:23:as this would be a better way to train others into getting ready for a raid/team work on a bigger scale environment.

I can only hope. I've been a hardcore raider since TBC and having been GM and Officer in a top ranked guild, I have noticed over the last year or two the quality of raider applicants has gone down noticeably. Honestly I don't plan on playing past Cataclysm, but as far as the community goes the general populace could do with a refresher in basic raid mechanics.

I haven't really played any of the RE's since the first. The first one was amazing, one of my favorite games from that era... the next one I played after that was RE5, and it just felt to me that the game really lost its focus, going from an RPG-lite horror game to just another zombie slaying action game. It was a fun game, but I would have loved to see them develop it more in the slow-moving horror direction.

Creston wrote on Sep 14, 2011, 12:49:"It's amazing! We're experiencing no lag at all, no matter our location! I can use the PC in the break room, or the one in the gym, or the one right next to the server, it all runs smoothly!"

I mean, come on. It's a friends and relatives beta. Odds are those people are pretty close by.

Creston

Blizzard's friends & family span a fairly large area, I have a friend with the beta who lives in DC, and he confirms the same, lag/latency is generally non-existent.

eunichron wrote on Sep 10, 2011, 20:22:So men are just supposed to stop being attracted to women?

Video games are fantasy, no matter how you slice it men and women both will be presented in the medium in an idealized, fantastical manner... and there is nothing wrong with that.

I would actually be interested to hear what homosexual men think of the portrayal of male characters in video games. Do they think that the typical male heroes of gaming improperly or unjustly represent the common male?

Or wait, did I just cross a line there?

Let's just quote from the article you should have read if you felt like commenting on it, which addresses your argument. "Normally at this point someone is jumping up and down pointing out that men are idealised to the point of ridiculousness in gaming, too. That’s often true – nobody’s going to say Marcus and Dom are normal looking-human beings – but you could hardly say they’re sexualised. This gallery of male characters is extremely light on broken anatomy, uncovered flesh, and grossly exaggerated sexual characteristics – although there’s a lot of perfect hair."

The whole homosexual opinion thing is lost on me. I don't see how it would be relevant. Let's get a Lesbian's opinion too, It doesn't change anything. They are just as capable of sexism as straight people.

Now let's just assume she wasn't writing opinionated drivel for a blog and realize that admitting she's attracted to heroes like Adam Jensen, Commander Shepherd, Isaac Clarke, Cole Phelps, and Marcus Fenix would destroy her entire argument. If you take what is typically an idealized male (let's use the tall dark and handsome paradigm), that is just about every male video game character ever created. Just because they're not scantily clad showing off their pectorals and waving their dicks around doesn't mean they aren't sexualized. Why aren't short fat ugly men in an uproar?

The homosexual male opinion came about because they are men who are attracted to men, and at least that might give them a bit more insight into sexism for or against male characters. It's really not that hard of a connection to make. As a heterosexual male I don't look at male protagonists in a sexual manner, but who knows, a homosexual man might, and he might be offended.

Video games are fantasy, no matter how you slice it men and women both will be presented in the medium in an idealized, fantastical manner... and there is nothing wrong with that.

I would actually be interested to hear what homosexual men think of the portrayal of male characters in video games. Do they think that the typical male heroes of gaming improperly or unjustly represent the common male?

I think what Prez is getting at, and I agree, is that equality doesn't mean placing the afflicted on a pedestal. It doesn't matter if you're black, hispanic, female, gay, extraterrestrial, whatever... being "equal" doesn't mean you are off-limits.

Since this PC garbage is only getting worse, I'm beginning to think George Carlin should be mandatory in the public school curriculum these days.

So if setting a zombie on fire gave you the "Did What We Should Do To All Homos" achievement we should all just get over it, it's a joke?If all the black characters couldn't read skill books we should all get over it, it's a joke?

Are you trying to imply that black people can't read? That's pretty fucking racist.

Spoiler text: Wasn't the point of the boat ride that Adam was pretty beat up after Tong double-crossed him at Belltower's port? Adam needed time to recuperate so he locked himself in one of those transport pods... I think it's kind of a stretch to go from a 3 day R&R ride to Singapore to discovering the truth behind who is controlling Belltower etc. Then again, I wasn't too impressed with the way they fit Eliza Cassan into the story. An Illuminati controlled AI news reporter is just so trite and boring, and the way they did the whole Montreal sequence just felt really rushed and not well thought out compared to the rest of the story.

(and my seven hours is probably everyone else's three since I'm going slow on purpose. Yes, I DID in fact need to stop and gaze at every single sign and billboard on the street. Shut up.)

Hey, I think a lot of us did... there are actually some clues and hints in those billboards, signs, and talking to civilians on the street. Where took most of my friend ~25 hours to play through, it took me about 32 hours from start to finish, but I did speed myself up a little bit about half way through.

Nighthawk wrote on Sep 6, 2011, 15:29:I would like to hear from the vetrans of WW1, WW2, Vietnam, Korea, 1812, about EA's copyright on "Battlefield"...

I didn't see the EA logo anywhere in Kandahar when I was there, just sayin...

I saw a few in the PX at Camp Liberty in Iraq when they got a few 360s at release in 2005. Though, I think that Muqtada al-Sadr and the 1920 Revolutionary Brigade would have just laughed at them if they knew.

Creston wrote on Sep 6, 2011, 13:25:I kind of wonder where this games ratings board was when Rapelay was released.

Half simplistic and mostly not true. Most of that stuff does or didn't fall under the realm of ratings boards. Besides "rapelay" is still tame compared to what you could buy then. And still wouldn't be news if someone didn't get their panties in a knot over it(mostly the name). The imposition of post WWII american culture in japan kinda messed with a lot of stuff. Most stuff that's imported for the sale to the general public falls under ratings. The rest of the stuff you listed is considered 'outside the norm' in society there anyway, and falls outside the realm of ratings.

Indeed. It's kind of like NR (Not Rated) films and games in the US. Generally they are art films or underground films that are understood to be vile, repugnant, or offensive, but do not get enough exposure to warrant an official rating by the ESRB or MPAA.

Of course those things gain notoriety in foreign nations because of the, "OMG look at what those crazy foreigners are doing!" shock value. But anyone that has traveled the world knows, people are people are people, no matter where you go.